Mordecai de Ardyn
Mordecai de Ardyn is a Maar Sulais knight from the House of Ardyn who is working for the Order of the Black Rose. He served as a bodyguard to his uncle Belial and his half-sister Desdemona. He is a long-time carrier of the Blood Fever, and only his magical armor is keeping him alive although the disease has ravaged his body and made his eyes glow permanently in eerie blue light. He ostensibly became a prisoner of the Totenkopfs after his kidnapping in the Second Battle of Remonton but in fact it was all a ruse as he aided them willingly to distill the Blood Fever from him and mutate it into an even stronger variant. He later moved to Alent where his treachery was uncovered when he tried to assassinate Leon Alcibiates and Marcus Sarillius, but he escaped with help from Totenkopfs. Biography Early Years Forbidden Love Mordecai was born from a union of Count Antigonus de Ardyn and Eurydice Bitterleaf. His elven mother died soon after he was born, so Antigonus raised him and taught him the secrets of the Order of the Black Rose. Mordecai turned out to be a good learner and developed considerable skills with the sword. He was very strong too, so he beat the crap out of anyone who dared bully him. He was rather quiet, but he found himself comfortable whenever he was around with his older half-sister Desdemona de Ardyn, and the two developed a close bond that turned downright incestuous in their late teens. They kept their forbidden relationship secret from everyone within the Order, even their closest family members. A few years prior to the Yamatian Invasion of Maar Sul, Antigonus vanished in the aftermath of a chaotic battle in the Order's headquarters and was presumed dead. Mordecai had become distant to everyone but Desdemona, and he did not feel anything in his father's funeral. His uncle Belial de Ardyn began taking care of him and Desdemona, and their life continued as normal apart from Mordecai and Desdemona having nightly visits to each other's bedrooms. An Armored Prison It was around this time that Mordecai began showing symptoms of the Blood Fever, and Belial immediately forged a magically enchanted armor by using the notes of the late Antigonus. He put Mordecai in the armor, and that turned out to be a wise move because it kept Mordecai alive albeit in great pain. It didn't stop Mordecai and Desdemona from continuing their secret relationship, though, but the nightly visits became rarer as time passed on. The Blood Fever was slowly taking over Mordecai's body, but his fantastic physique was partially helping him struggle against the disease. He became even more distant than he had been, now rarely uttering words even to Desdemona. The two continued sharing a close bond, though. Belial was almost assassinated a decade after the Cataclysm. Mordecai shrugged the news off, but stayed as Belial's bodyguard from then on. Belial found out that a death cult called the Totenkopfs had been behind the assassination attempt, and he took his closest servants and family members, including Mordecai and Desdemona, with him as he began the voyage to Remon to uncover the Totenkopfs' plans. Unbeknownst to him Mordecai and Desdemona were already members of the Totenkopfs and had set up the assassination attempt to get their uncle where the Totenkopfs wanted him: in Remon to set things in motion. Godslayer Era The Age of Emptiness Mordecai accompanied his uncle Belial to Ravensworth aboard the Ardent in 1016 AE. He did not trust Captain Adram Alek's welcoming committee, and he immediately acted when he noticed a shady person chanting something behind the group. He was too late to stop the person, and soon it became clear what the purpose of the chanting had been as the Ravensworth Watch suddenly opened fire and sank the ship. Mordecai's armor was damaged in the blast, and only quick thinking from his uncle kept him alive. He and the rest of the survivors were eventually saved by Axikasha Keiran and the Wanderers who had happened to sail to Ravensworth at the time. The Wanderers' ship quickly retreated to a nearby cove when the Watch kept shooting it. A few mages from both Adram's and Ax's parties helped keep Mordecai alive long enough for Belial to prepare a spell to repair the enchanted armor. It was around that time that Adram's and Ax's men found out that Mordecai was infected with the Blood Fever. Although Mordecai was still weak, he accompanied Belial and these new companions to Remonton. He helped in fending off a few Totenkopfs who had tried to ambush the group, and eventually even more people joined the group, one of them being Belial's brother-in-law, Dieter von Waldheim. On Death's Trail Ax led the group, including Mordecai, through an underground passageway into Remonton where the group soon found themselves the target of the Proninist Party which had taken over the city only a few days earlier. The arrival of a man claiming to be Marcus Sarillius, the king of Remon, just made things more confusing, and Mordecai eventually learned that Belial had been captured. Mordecai did not have much time to think long when the Totenkopfs appeared and released an ice elemental into the city. While the others were fighting against the elemental and the Proninists, a group of Totenkopfs kidnapped Mordecai in the blink of an eye. It turned out that the Totenkopfs had been after Mordecai all this time. Mordecai was teleported into a mysterious, dark temple where the Totenkopfs began conducting experiments on him, hoping to distill a pure form of Blood Fever from his body. He remained in this state for over a year and would not witness the resurrection of the Grand Alliance. Echoes of War When Ax's group hurried to the Ruined Kingdom to save Marcus from mysterious kidnappers, the Totenkopfs figured out what was going on and decided to take Mordecai, or the Progenitor as they called him, to a safer location. While Ax's group was busy dealing with the kidnappers and other Totenkopfs, Mordecai was taken away without realizing how close his uncle and half-sister had been to find him. More info later. The Point of No Return A Cry in the Dark Despair's Wake Aliases and Nicknames ; Mordy : Used mainly by Desdemona when she and Mordecai were older, although nowadays they refer to each other more formally...at least in public. ; Progenitor : A codename used by the Totenkopfs when they talk about Mordecai. The Totenkopfs claim that Mordecai's Blood Fever has evolved to a new level after long exposure, and they hope to distill this pure form and conduct experiments on it for some nefarious purpose which eventually turned out to be the fever's mutated variant, the Plague of Undeath. Appearance Mordecai was a handsome dark-haired half-elf, but the Blood Fever has slowly taken its toll on his fair body. Now he looks pale, has glowing blue eyes and white skin with pulsating sores. It's a miracle that he's still alive. Few have seen him in this state, though, because he keeps his armor on at all times. The armor Mordecai carries is rather bulky and ordinary-looking but has some magic properties so it does not weigh as much as armors usually do even though it is just as protective. His helmet is rather intimidating too, with a grim expression and elaborate decorations. Personality and Traits Mordecai prefers to observe and speaks rarely, and some suggest that his cold attitude might be a side effect of his long exposure to the Blood Fever. He is also quite ruthless in battle and does whatever he can to ensure victory. The only person he really seems to care about nowadays is his half-sister Desdemona. Powers and Abilities Mordecai is a better than average knight and excels at swordplay. He does not know any magic, though, and can be quite slow in his movements thanks to his bulky armor. Relationships Antigonus de Ardyn Mordecai did not spend much time with his father Antigonus, because Antigonus was busy with his schemes. The two loved each other like a father and a son, and Antigonus used every opportunity he could to be with his son. This growing relationship was tragically cut short when Antigonus was killed in battle. Mordecai did not cry in his funeral and shrugged the pain off like he always did and continued honing his skills in order to honour his father's memory. After the revelation in Alent that his father had survived, Mordecai has come in contact with him, and the two seemed to have formed a bond although it remains to be seen if it's genuine or just an act on Mordecai's part. Belial de Ardyn The relationship between Mordecai and his uncle Belial has always been distant and even more so when Mordecai began showing signs of the Blood Fever. Belial has tried to approach his nephew and do what he can to break the ice, but it has been no use because Mordecai is adamant like a rock and hardly seems to feel any emotions these days. Desdemona de Ardyn Desdemona had three roles in Mordecai's life: mother substitute, big sister and lover. The two understood each other really well and hardly ever had to speak to know what the other was thinking. Their relationship had to remain hidden, because rumours of incest could have not only ruined their reputation but also the Order's. Although Mordecai's feelings seemed to calm down after he had been exposed to the Blood Fever, he nevertheless cares about Desdemona even though he understands that their relationship can never be public and that he will likely never be able to father children due to his ravaged condition...although the latter claim was later proven to be false when Desdemona became pregnant. See also *House of Ardyn *Order of the Black Rose *Plague of Undeath *Totenkopfs Category:Characters Category:House of Ardyn Category:Maar Sul (nation) Category:Mixed Ancestry Category:Order of the Black Rose Category:Third Age Category:Totenkopfs